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The United States of America is a federal republic of 50 states, a capital district, and a few other territories. It resides mostly in central North America. The U.S. has three land borders, two with Canada and one with Mexico, and is otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 50 states, only Alaska and Hawaii are not contiguous with any other state. The U.S. also has a collection of districts, territories, and possessions around the world. Each state has a high level of local autonomy according to the system of federalism. The United States traces its national origin to the declaration by 13 British colonies in 1776 that they were free and independent states. They were recognized as such by the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Since then, the nation has grown to become a global superpower and exerts a high level of economic, political, military, and cultural influence.
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" Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written by English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725–1807), published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.
Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was pressed into the Royal Navy and became a sailor, eventually participating in the slave trade. One night a terrible storm battered his vessel so severely that he became frightened enough to call out to God for mercy, a moment that marked the beginning of his spiritual conversion. His career in slave trading lasted a few years more until he quit going to sea altogether and began studying theology.
Author Gilbert Chase writes that "Amazing Grace" is "without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns", and Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that it is performed about 10 million times annually. It has had particular influence in folk music, and become an emblematic African American spiritual. Its universal message has been a significant factor in its crossover into secular music. "Amazing Grace" saw a resurgence in popularity in the U.S. during the 1960s and has been recorded thousands of times during and since the 20th century, sometimes appearing on popular music charts.
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Angelina Jolie ( Angelina Jolie Voight on June 4, 1975) is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. Jolie promotes humanitarian causes, and is noted for her work with refugees as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She has been cited as one of the world's most attractive people, as well as the world's "most beautiful" woman, titles for which she has received substantial media attention.
Divorced from actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton, Jolie currently lives with actor Brad Pitt, in a relationship that has attracted worldwide media attention. Jolie and Pitt have three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, as well as three biological children, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne.
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George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) was the forty-third President of the United States of America. He previously served as the forty-sixth Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 and is the eldest son of former United States President George Herbert Walker Bush. He was inaugurated as President on January 20, 2001 and his second term ended on January 20, 2009 when Barack Obama was sworn in as the forty-fourth president. Bush was a 2001 Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
As president, Bush signed into law a $1.35 trillion tax cut program in 2001, and in 2002 the No Child Left Behind Act. In October 2001, after the attacks on September 11, 2001, Bush announced a global War on Terrorism and ordered an invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban, destroy Al-Qaeda, and to capture Osama bin Laden. In March 2003, Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, asserting that Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction and that the war was necessary for the protection of the United States.
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Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota. In 2005, the city had an estimated population of 53,230 and an estimated metropolitan population of 96,523 in 2006. Grand Forks, along with its twin city of East Grand Forks, Minnesota, forms the center of the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is often called Greater Grand Forks or The Grand Cities.
Located on the western banks of the Red River of the North in an extremely flat region known as the Red River Valley, the city is prone to flooding and was struck by the devastating Red River Flood of 1997. Grand Forks was founded in 1870 by steamboat captain Alexander Griggs and incorporated on February 22, 1881. Its location at the fork of the Red River and the Red Lake River gives the city its name.
Historically dependent on local agriculture, the city's economy now encompasses higher education, defense, health care, manufacturing, food processing, and scientific research. Grand Forks is served by Grand Forks International Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, while the city's University of North Dakota is the largest and oldest institution of higher education in the state. The Alerus Center host athletic and other events, while the North Dakota Museum of Art and Chester Fritz Auditorium are the city's largest cultural venues.
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This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
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As of 15 April 2016, there are 7002997000000000000♠997 featured and 7003218700000000000♠2,187 good articles within WikiProject United States scope. This makes up 5.14% of the articles on Wikipedia, 12.96% of all featured articles and lists, and 9.13% of all good articles. Including non-article pages, such as talk pages, redirects, categories, etcetera, there are 7005848420000000000♠848,420 pages in the project.
Featured culture biographies: Actors and filmmakers – James Thomas Aubrey, Jr. • Kroger Babb • Eric Bana • Joseph Barbera • Bette Davis • Kirsten Dunst • Judy Garland • Jake Gyllenhaal • Maggie Gyllenhaal • Anthony Michael Hall • William Hanna • Phil Hartman • Ethan Hawke • Katie Holmes • Janet Jackson • Michael Jackson • Angelina Jolie • Diane Keaton • Madonna (entertainer) • Austin Nichols • Brad Pitt • Nancy Reagan • Ronald Reagan • Aaron Sorkin • KaDee Strickland • Sharon Tate • Reese Witherspoon • Anna May Wong; Arts and entertainment – James Robert Baker • William D. Boyce • Stephen Crane • H.D. • Emily Dickinson • George Washington Dixon • Zelda Fitzgerald • Margaret Fuller • William Gibson • Rufus Wilmot Griswold • Ernest Hemingway • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. • Jenna Jameson • James Russell Lowell • Master Juba • I. M. Pei • Edgar Allan Poe • Roman Vishniac • Nathaniel Parker Willis; Musicians – Aaliyah • Alice in Chains • Audioslave • Bix Beiderbecke • Big Star • Mariah Carey • Damageplan • Bob Dylan • Flea (musician) • Black Francis • John Frusciante • Godsmack • The Greencards • Insane Clown Posse • Janet Jackson • Michael Jackson • Bradley Joseph • Maynard James Keenan • Frank Klepacki • David Lovering • Madonna (entertainer) • John Mayer • Metallica • Nine Inch Nails • Nirvana (band) • The Notorious B.I.G. • Leo Ornstein • Ellis Paul • Pearl Jam • Pixies • Elvis Presley • Selena • Slayer • The Smashing Pumpkins • Elliott Smith • Gwen Stefani • The Supremes • Tool (band) • Uncle Tupelo • Wilco • Frank Zappa; Sports and games – Nick Adenhart • Shelton Benjamin • Moe Berg • Tim Duncan • Bobby Eaton • Orval Grove • Art Houtteman • Magic Johnson • Michael Jordan • Bart King • Sandy Koufax • Jimmy McAleer • Bob Meusel • Stan Musial • Ben Paschal • CM Punk • J. R. Richard • Jackie Robinson • Bill Russell • Sigi Schmid • Lee Smith (baseball) • Ozzie Smith • Paul Stastny • Jim Thorpe • Tyrone Wheatley
Featured society biographies: Military – Daniel Boone • James Bowie • Simon Bolivar Buckner • Henry Cornelius Burnett • Frederick Russell Burnham • Wesley Clark • Brian Eaton • Gerald Ford • Winfield Scott Hancock • Benjamin Harrison • William Henry Harrison • Rutherford B. Hayes • Thomas C. Hindman • Thomas C. Kinkaid • Eli Lilly • John McCain • George B. McClellan • Fred Moosally • Sylvanus Morley • Edwin Taylor Pollock • Ronald Reagan • Uriel Sebree • Lawrence Sullivan Ross • Isaac Shelby • William Tecumseh Sherman • Myles Standish • Edward Teller • Benjamin Franklin Tilley • Stephen Trigg • Harriet Tubman; Politics and government – Samuel Adams • J. C. W. Beckham • Daniel Boone • William O'Connell Bradley • Simon Bolivar Buckner • Henry Cornelius Burnett • Charles Carroll the Settler • Murray Chotiner • Wesley Clark • Grover Cleveland • Calvin Coolidge • Richard Cordray • John J. Crittenden • Gerald Ford • Wendell H. Ford • William Goebel • Emma Goldman • John W. Johnston • Franklin Knight Lane • John McCain • George B. McClellan • Bob McEwen • Thomas R. Marshall • Harvey Milk • Edwin P. Morrow • Pat Nixon • Barack Obama • Rosa Parks • Paul E. Patton • Edwin Taylor Pollock • Nancy Reagan • Ronald Reagan • Theodore Roosevelt • Lawrence Sullivan Ross • Terry Sanford • Antonin Scalia • Solomon P. Sharp • Isaac Shelby • Augustus Owsley Stanley • Stephen Trigg • Jerry Voorhis • Daniel Webster • Franklin D. Roosevelt • Harry S. Truman; Science and academia – Edward Drinker Cope • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. • David A. Johnston • Eli Lilly • Glynn Lunney • Barbara McClintock • Sylvanus Morley • Gerard K. O'Neill • Hilary Putnam • Edward Teller • Roman Vishniac • Otto Julius Zobel
Featured lists: There are over 230 Featured lists in the scope of United States including: 109th United States Congress • Commandant of the Marine Corps • Korean War Medal of Honor recipients • Most populous counties in the United States • National Parks of the United States • Tallest buildings in Washington, D.C. • U.S. state name etymologies • U.S. states by population • United States Secretary of Energy • Volcanoes in the Hawaiian – Emperor seamount chain
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Featured portals: • California • Portal:Connecticut • Florida • Illinois (Chicago) • Indiana (Indianapolis) • Kentucky (Louisville) • Minnesota • Nevada • New York • Oklahoma • Oregon • Puerto Rico • Rhode Island • Texas (Houston) • Utah • American Civil War • Barack Obama • Military of the United States (United States Navy, United States Air Force) • U.S. Roads (Maryland Roads, Michigan Highways)
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